Unique Program Features

Call

PGY 2-3 take primary call while PGY 4-5 provide back up call. Call averages out to be 5-6 weekdays a month and 1 out of 3 weekends as a junior resident. As chief call, weekend call averages out to 1 out of 6 weekends. We cover several hospitals while on call; therefore, home call starts as a PGY-2.

Mileage Reimbursement

Orthopaedic residents are eligible for mileage reimbursement for travel while on call.

Vacation

Four weeks of vacation per year are divided as one week of vacation per quarter. While on vacation, the resident is also off call the weekend before and after.

Moving

A moving stipend of $2.00 a mile (up to $1200) is provided to each resident who has to relocate.

Clinical Nurse Specialist

Our department employs a CRNP to help take care of administrative tasks and help with placing patients and any needs they have once they are discharged from the hospital. This allows a true early operating experience – even as an intern.

Travel

Each resident will attend one course per year that is sponsored by the department in addition to a board review course as a PGY-5. If a resident has research that is accepted for presentation, the department will cover cost of the trip including travel, housing, and a daily per diem for food.

Fitness Center

Access to the University of South Alabama Recreational Facility is provided to residents for $10 per month.

Sports Medicine

The orthopaedic residents here at the University of South Alabama have the ability to be on the sidelines to cover USA football and USA basketball games – division 1 sports in the Sun Belt Conference.

A two month elective rotation at The Andrews Institute as a PGY-3.

A two month elective rotation as a PGY-5

Community Physicians

All residents are given the opportunity to operate with community orthopedic surgeons on a monthly basis.

Simulator

The department has an arthroscopic simulator in the Orthopaedic Resident Library.

Surgical Skills Lab

The Department of Orthopaedic Sergery has access to cadavers for dissection, open approaches, and arthroscopic training on an as-needed basis.

Scrubs and White Coats

At the beginning of the PGY-1 year, interns get three white coats and three pairs of scrubs. At the beginning of each academic year, each resident gets a new white coat OR a new pair of scrubs. The department offers free laundry service for cleaning of white coats.

Journal Subscription

The department provides each resident with a subscription to Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery and the AAOS Yellow Journal.

Parking

Free parking adjacent to hospital entrance next to Emergency Room and Operating Room.

Current Stipends

Health Insurance

The USA Health and Dental plan is available and the University also offers flexible spending accounts, term life insurance for spouses and eligible dependents with the ability to purchase extra coverage, long term disability coverage, and 12 days of sick leave time per year.